Frito-Lay, a PepsiCo subsidiary, recently announced plans to add more than 176 all-electric trucks to its delivery fleet over the next year and a half. Already five all-electric trucks have been deployed for the company’s New York routes this month, with plans to implement a total of 21 all-electric trucks by the end of the year.
They plan to add another 155 all-electric trucks by the end of 2011. The company already has six EVs operating in its Canada fleet which are made by Smith Electric Vehicles. They get up to 100 miles on a single charge, and, like any electric vehicle, are virtually silent.
Frito-Lay launched its first EV trucks in the New York metropolitan area in part because it was given a grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
Frito-Lay estimates that once all 176+ Electric Vehicles (EVs) are implemented, it will save the company in excess of 500,000 gallons of fuel a year. ”With the seventh-largest privately owned fleet in the U.S., Frito-Lay has set a goal of becoming the most fuel-efficient fleet in the country,” the company said in their recent press release. Smith Electric is currently working with other companies to fulfill similar EV delivery truck plans.
If you are looking to automate your home with Z-Wave lighting and appliance control, the Vera Z-Wave Web-Enabled Automation Controller will give you the power to take advantage of full-featured home automation and make it simple. The Vera system is based on a Wi-Fi access point that links with your wireless router. Once connected, the Vera interface can be accessed as a web browser from a web-enabled PC, phone or PDA anywhere in the world. You can remotely program scenes, events and timers that activate an individual device or group of devices throughout your home. You can also receive remote notifications via a text message, email, or a phone call when certain things happen that you want to be notified of.
In addition to Z-wave products, Vera is also able to control certain wireless IP Cameras and audio video equipment. Vera offers the convenience to control lighting, climate, draperies and a variety of devices using your cell phone, iPhone, iPod or other handheld remote. The intuitive program allows you to see how much you’re spending on energy and gives you remote access see what’s going on in your home by watching your cameras from a PC or cell phone. They claim it can help a typical family reduce their energy bill by about 33% . The Vera system claims to be able set up in minutes and allows the novice home automation enthusiast to get everything you would expect from a high-end home automation system.
Intel Corp plans to build a $5 billion a cutting-edge microchip factory in Arizona by 2013. This sharply ramps up its U.S. manufacturing capacity as part of its major global expansion. Construction is expected to kick off in the middle of this year, it said in a recent statement. When completed, the plant will churn out its next-generation 14-nanometer line-width transistors and microchip wafers of 300 millimeters.
Intel said in October it plans to spend up to $8 billion on high-tech manufacturing facilities in Arizona and Oregon, creating as many as 8,000 construction jobs. About three-quarters of Intel’s manufacturing takes place in the United States. US based companies need to use Intel as an example and make an increased effort to bring jobs back to the States.
The only place I see green technology being integrated right is in California. There are companies that take the inner city youth and train them in the fields of solar panel installation, retrofitting buildings, green rooftops, etc (link at bottom of page, one example.)
In the Midwest if your not an engineer your chances of getting your foot in the door are slim to none. I believe this creates a major gap between the educated and uneducated (which in this country we know is not accessible to everyone). We will never build a middle class in America with the declination of College Institutions being in the state their in. Life skills are not being taught.
America now ranks as one of the most undereducated countries in the world(http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/09/13/national/main838207.shtml), yet most graduates find themselves 70 to 80k in debt in an economy that’s not hiring. This is a major problem. I know first hand.. I went to school and when I got out in the field, I was retrained in a more real life way. It only took about a week to find out I could have apprenticed my way up and that nobody gave a hoot about my little certificate piece of paper, or my accolades I obtained in school.. Still I was 24,000 dollars in debt to an institution that had no concern of my future but loved sending me my bill. It made me realize that our educational system in mimicking, banking system, and that system is mimicking our governmental system and then everything became clear. Most people in higher places have for along time understood, to put people in debt is the best way to (without sounding too harsh) really enslave us.
I think we need to start from our grass roots again; our brothers and sisters, neighbors and family need to help one another out and stop sending all of our hard earned money to these institutions and keep it in our communities and privately owned business. One of the people I look up to on issues like this is Catherine Austin Fittz you might want to check her out at solari.com. Truth of it is, America needs a whole new way of putting people back to work. The Teddy Roosevelt’s of yesteryear are gone.. you know, those people that understood how to put men and women to work and built the greatest country in the world. There is nothing equal to field training and/or apprenticeship, nothing! I’m sick and tired of this mythological green movement that is ever so elusive being the next comparative thing to the computer era or automotive era yet the only way to do it is become an engineer? I’m sorry, the basics of electricity are not that hard, then you can work with a mentor from that point on.. Every job posted I see is for an engineer! I’m getting too old (35) and I am too broke to go back to another school that’s going to suck another 20k out of me.
In a perfect world, there would be someone out there that understood this gap, someone that understood that the only way to really learn something is to mess it up enough times until you get it right. To have someone with you that had been there and had done it, to educate you along the way.
I write this not only because I’m just looking to make a paycheck. This new technology excites me, I want to be a part of something that’s positive in what seems to be such a negative time. Most of all I want to see our men and women working gain, and not just let the Chinese take and do everything for us. As patriots, we should be very weary of globalists and return more back to an isolationist view, I personally think. Thanks once again for your time, and I hope for brighter futures for us all.
But really there’s hundreds more, just Google inner city youth back to work California.
Chicago’s mayor also is leaping ahead nicely.
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Editors Note:The above unedited commentary does not necessarily represent the view of the NRGspot.com. We have published this to give our readers a passionatereal life perspective of one person’s trials and tribulations with respect to finding a green job. If you should be able to help Dan in his quest to find a green job, have a some insight to share or constructive commentary please e-mail us at info(at)nrgspot.com
Petra Solar designs and manufactures the first smart grid interactive solar electric system specifically designed for installation on utility distribution poles, Utility Grade SunWave™ UP Series. The systems, which operate as individual power generation stations, combine solar power, smart grid and power management technologies to enable utilities to improve power quality and grid management. Petra Solar’s systems operate on streetlight and utility poles, connecting directly to the grid’s secondary voltage lines at the pole.
Last July the N.J. Board of Public Utilities approved a contract between Petra Solar and New Jersey’s largest utility, PSE&G, to generate 40MW of power through SunWave solar systems installed on up to 200,000 poles in New Jersey. The intelligent photovoltaic solar units are currently being installed throughout the state’s six largest cities and 300 suburban communities and will be running on the AT&T wireless network. For more information see Petra Solar.
GREEN is in its infancy and to date, there has been plenty of talk about the environment, but still, very few products are available at retail for concerned consumers to do their part…and, according to consumers, the environmental products currently stocked by retailers do not work as well as conventional ones. This is all about to change.
Enter Green Earth Technologies
Green Earth Technologies, a consumer goods manufacturer, produces “G”-Branded superior performing TOTALLY GREEN products made entirely from American Grown Base Oils that now puts the power of patent pending nanotechnology (doing more with less) and dehydrogenation into the hands of environmentally concerned consumers everywhere.
Ultimate Biodegradable (ASTM Standard’s highest available ranking) and environmentally safe, G-Brands consisting of G-OIL™, G-DISPOSOIL™, G-WASH™, G-GLASS™, G-SCENT™ G-WHEEL™, G-TIRE™ and G-TILE™ are diversified to cross categories within several market segments, including automotive performance & appearance chemicals, marine performance & appearance chemicals, household cleaning solutions and lawn & garden chemicals. Consumers can now choose to “do their part” without having to give up performance or value…SAVE the EARTH – SACRIFICE NOTHING!
Martin Brodeur joins Project Porchlight’s “Salute to Success” Celebration Project Porchlight’s “Salute to Success” on June 3 at Military Park in Newark, New Jersey, was a wonderful celebration of our campaign which has distributed more than one million energy-saving compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs across the state. How much will state residents save on their electric bills thanks to our campaign? A total of $78 million. Now that’s a cause for celebration!
Who better to help New Jersey residents save than Martin Brodeur (pictured here), goalie for the New Jersey Devils. “No one is asking you to change overnight, but if you do make some small changes in your life, it will make a big difference,” says Brodeur.
In the nearly five years since Project Porchlight was born, more than 3 million free energy-saving light bulbs have been distributed by 12,000 volunteers and 3000 community groups in more than 900 communities in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, Vermont, New Jersey and Puget Sound. The energy-efficient CFL bulbs have helped residents reduce their energy use by 29,879,903 megawatt hours, save more than $116 million, and stop 791,529 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from being released into the air.
One lucky guest won a New Jersey Devils jersey signed by Martin Broduer, who told the assembled guests that he was proud to be affiliated with such a worthy cause and encouraged people to sign up to volunteer. And, of course, each guest received a complimentary CFL bulb.
The future looks bright for our children with regard to jobs of all types. However NOW for the rest of us, see the job listings on the right of this page to save time looking for a new career path. See the many green energy openings that can be applied for today!
